Tips, Advice and How to Protect Your Digital Assets

Tips, Advice and How to Protect Your Digital Assets

Hey there and welcome. How’s your summer going? I can’t believe we are nearly back to school and autumn is upon us. Which then means Christmas. And Oreo Christmas puds! And this in turn means a lot of blog post planning and writing! It’s been three years now since I started the blog. It’s grown so much too, from a simple space for sharing fun food ideas, to a document of our lives with little B. When I think about it, there’s a LOT of stuff online that I own.

Trust Me, You’ll Have a Lot of Online Assets!

It’s not something I’ve really considered before but if I died, what on earth would happen to all that “stuff”?! And by stuff I mean my blog, my social accounts, my multiple email addresses, bank accounts, PayPal account, online storage, shopping, music – there’s loads! More importantly who would sort out all that stuff? By default I guess it would be the hubby but what could I do to get all my digital assets in order upfront?

To put it bluntly, your digital assets would be stuck in limbo if you don’t specific what happens with them after you die. A morbid thought I know but just have a think for a few seconds about all the things you own online. Think about the amount of passwords and user names you keep track of.

Loads right?

How to Protect Your Digital Assets

Today I’m sharing with you a few tips on what you can do to protect your online legacy. And also, what you can do to help out your loved ones, if they had to deal with everything online on your behalf in the event you were to die. SunLife also has a handy digital legacy tool where you can specify your digital wishes. You can also read a bit more about what happens to your online accounts if you were to die.

Start With a List

As with everything, make a list of all the accounts you own, as well as devices – so think phones, tablets, laptops, smart TVs and games consoles. From this list, you can then start documenting user names and passwords.

Have a really good think because you probably have a larger digital footprint than you think. Remember to include anything like cloud storage and back up such as Google Drive and Dropbox. Also consider online accounts for managing household bills.

Document Email

Like most people, you probably have a few email addresses. These often serve as backups for lost passwords. Make sure you record your email details and passwords, and don’t rely just on a work email to access online accounts. Think LinkedIn. Your work email may be disconnected pretty quickly.

Estimate Value

Things like your PayPal, any crypto currency accounts, savings, pensions accounts all have a financial value. But also think about things that hold sentimental value such as photos. Even things like a blog or Instagram account with a large following will hold some kind of value.

Assign Your List

Once you have your list, decide who takes control of these accounts should you die. You can you trust to deal with all your online accounts?

You may want to give your assigned person some sort of instructions as well. For example if you have a Facebook account, do you want it closed down?

What Next?

I know it isn’t overly cheerful but it’s probably a convo you want to have with loved ones at some point. These three tips are there to get you started.